Prayers for the New Year

Bless us, O Lord, and bless the time and seasons
yet to come.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
And fill this new year with your kindness,
that we may be glad and rejoice
all the days of our life.

Amen

A New Year's Prayer
Dear Lord, please give me
A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;
A work to do which has real value,
without which the world would be the poorer;
A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;
An understanding heart;
A sense of humor;
Time for quiet, silent meditation;
A feeling of the presence of God;
The patience to wait for the coming of these things,
With the wisdom to recognize them when they come.
Amen.
Unknown

As the dawn breaks on a new year, let us give thanks for all we hold dear: 

our health, our family and our friends.
Let us release our grudges, our anger and our pains, 

for these are nothing but binding chains. 

Let us live each day in the most loving ways, the God-conscious way. 

Let us serve all who are in need, regardless of race, color or creed.
Let us keep God of our own understanding in our hearts 

and chant God's name each day. 

Let us lead the world from darkness to light, 

from falsehood to truth and from wrong to right.
Let us remember that we are all one, 

embracing all, discriminating against none.
May your year be filled with peace, prosperity and love. 

May God's blessings shower upon you 

and bestow upon each of you a bright, healthy 

and peaceful new year.
Reverend Marcy "Melchezedek Order"

Dear Lord, as I close the door on this old year,
I ponder on the things I've done...
on the things I've said and the joys I've had...
then I wonder, have I lost or won?

I've thought of the new friends I have made,
and of the old ones staunch and true...
the path of the old year was made easier Lord,
because I have walked it with You.

I think of all the many times,
when my burdens were so heavy to bear,
and how my faith slipped away from me...
but somehow You were always standing there.

Now as I open the door to this New Year,
and carefully peep inside,
I wonder what it holds for me...
but I'll throw the door open wide

And whatever it brings to me and mine,
I'll meet it with a heart so true...
I know that, Lord whate'er it may be
You'll be there to carry me through.
Mrs. Merrel Thompson

Another year is dawning
With the chance to start anew.
May I be kinder, wiser, Lord,
In all I say and do.

Not so caught up in selfish gain
That I would fail to see
The things in life that mean the most
Cost not a fancy fee.

The warm, kind word that I can give,
The outstretched hand to help,
The prayers I pray for those in need--
More precious these than wealth.

I know not what may lie ahead
Of laughter or of tears;
I only need to know each day
That You are walking near.

I'm thankful for this brand new year
As now I humbly pray,
My hand secure in Yours, dear Lord,
Each step along the way.
Kay Hoffman

God grant us this year a wider view,
So we see others' faults through the eyes of You.
Teach us to judge not with hasty tongue,
Neither the adult ... nor the young.

Give us patience and grace to endure
And a stronger faith so we feel secure.
Instead of remembering, help us forget
The irritations that caused us to fret.

Freely forgiving for some offense
And finding each day a rich recompense.
In offering a friendly, helping hand
And trying in all ways to understand;

That all of us whoever we are ...
Are trying to reach an unreachable star.
For the great and small ... the good and bad,
The young and old ... the sad and glad

Are asking today; Is life worth living?
The answer is only in, loving and giving.
For only Love can make man kind
And Kindness of Heart brings Peace of Mind.

By giving love, we can start this year
To lift the clouds of hate and fear.
Helen Steiner Rice

Holy Father,

God of our yesterdays, our today, and our tomorrows.

We praise You for Your unequaled greatness.

Thank You for the year behind us and for the year ahead.

Help us in Your new year, Father, to fret less and laugh more.

To teach our children to laugh by laughing with them.

To teach others to love by loving them.

Knowing, when Love came to the stable in Bethlehem, He came for us.

So that Love could be with us, and we could know You.

That we could share Love with others.

Help us, Father, to hear Your love song in every sunrise,

in the chirping of sparrows in our backyards,

in the stories of our old folks, and the fantasies of our children.

Help us to stop and listen to Your love songs,

so that we may know You better and better.

We rejoice in the world You loved into being.

Thank You for another new year and for new chances every day.

We pray for peace, for light, and for hope, that we might spread them to others.

Forgive us for falling short this past year.

We leave the irreparable past in your hands, and step out into the unknown new year knowing You will go with us.

We accept Your gift of a new year and we rejoice in what's ahead, depending on You to help us do exactly what You want..

I say it again, we rejoice!

In Jesus name,

Amen.

For New Beginnings

O God,
We thank you for this earth, our home; for the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the ocean and streams, for the towering hills and the whispering wind, for the trees and green grass.

We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of fields of golden wheat, and taste autumn's fruit, rejoice in the feel of snow, and smell the breath of spring flowers.

Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty; and save us from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thorn bush is aflame with your glory.

For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and new discoveries. Life is constantly changing and renewing itself. In this new day of new beginnings with God, all things are possible. We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be.

Amen.
--Appleseeds.org